Oklahoma City Thunder vs LA Lakers Game 1 NBA Playoffs 2010 Picks & Predictions: The NBA regular season is finally over and the moment the (0-0) Los Angeles Lakers [-8] have been waiting for is now, as the defending world champs begin their journey starting with the (0-0) Oklahoma City Thunder [+8]. This highly anticipated first round matchup is set to get underway this afternoon at 3 PM ET (12 PM PT) live from STAPLES Center in LA LIVE on ABC Sports.
For Oklahoma City, its led by All-Star Kevin Durant, who won his first scoring title of his career after averaging 
30.1 points per game. Durant took the Thunder to their first postseason berth since moving over from Seattle two years ago. “This team gains experience by the first 10 minutes of the game,” Durant said. “We'll know how it's going to be for the rest of the series. I think we all learn quickly here.”
According to NBA Playoffs 2010 Picks & Predictions experts at SPORTSBETTING.com, the OVER/UNDER mark between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles is set at a combined total of 196½ points scored. “I can't approach it any differently even though it's the playoffs,” Durant said. “I can't be overhyped. I've just got to continue to just be myself and hopefully everything falls in line.”
For the defending champs, playing against guys like Durant is the main reason why they brought former Defensive Player of the Year Ron Artest over. This will be the Lakers’ first chance to see Artest take on one of the league’s premier players in a playoff scenario.
“I've been guarding the best players in my career, so it's not like something new,” Artest said. “It's going to really come down to more the Lakers and Oklahoma City. It's not going to come down to individual matchups. It's really going to come down to team.”
